“We were a different band in a lot of ways from when we played Philly at World Café Live in 2023; we even had more members then. We’ve learned and grown so much since then,” says Wallace, drummer of indie pop/rock trio Koyal, who will be returning to the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection to headline MilkBoy next Tuesday, August 11th. And although the band met while attending college in Atlanta and currently reside in Los Angeles, they do have some noteworthy ties to the 215, with guitarist/producer Noah Weinstein growing up in West Mt. Airy (and already planning a trip “home” to see LeBron play for the 76ers with his dad) and the recording of Koyal’s 2025 sophomore LP, breathe in. breathe out, done at Dr. Dog’s Headroom Studios, with Weinstein co-producing the album alongside Mo Lowda & the Humble’s Jeff Lucci.
I’m chatting with Wallace, Weinstein, and Koyal vocalist Pooja Prabakaran via phone from the band’s LA studio, where Prabakaran tells me the three have grown a bit of an extended family: “We’ve created a lot of our own community with our studio. Noah records for other artists there, so there’s a constant stream of creative people coming through.” “LA has been really good to us. It’s inspiring to be in a city where people are really chasing their dreams and chasing their artistic vision,” says Weinstein, while Wallace adds that the city provides the kind of environment where you can just run into inspiring artists in places like coffee shops. Noah tells me that they’ve even made connections with friends in big bands who are currently giving Koyal advice on how to fly with their gear for their summer dates, which resume tomorrow, with August 7th and August 8th performances at Bethlehem’s Musikfest 2026.
Koyal’s Summer Tour 2026 has already included performances at house shows and festivals alike (including Winnetka Music Festival and Mile of Music Festival), both of which Pooja tells me the band appreciates: “I think they’re equally fun in different ways. The house shows are special, very intimate, and people ask us questions between each song. Festivals are amazing because you’re in front of a new audience.” “What people always tell us is, ‘You guys are so wholesome.’ Even our larger shows have a very intimate feel,” Wallace explains. And while MilkBoy is currently the only barroom on the band’s itinerary, Noah tells me they’re great as well: “Barrooms are always fun for us, sometimes it’s a complete jam. I remember on our first tour we were playing a bar in Alabama, and a group of guys came in right after we started playing, and afterwards someone was like, ‘Do you know who that was?’ and it was Mike Mills from R.E.M.!”
It’s been a year and a half since Koyal dropped breathe in. breathe out, but they tell me they’ve got a lot of new music coming very soon, both to the live show and the internet. “We are so excited about the new material… We’ve been really working our new material into the set… It’s filled with bursts of energy,” says Weinstein. However, Pooja explains that the new music won’t quite be “the follow-up” to breathe in. breathe out. “We’re not gonna be doing an album. We’re dropping a bunch of singles throughout the fall,” says the singer, before Noah jumps in: “Fall, spring, however far it takes us!” “Our sound encapsulates a bunch of different genres,” says Prabakaran, while Weinstein and Wallace explain that their latest sounds have Koyal, “deepening our roots with indie rock and dance music,” before Wallace goes on to say that the band will have a tour playlist that just might include the inspirations behind some of those sounds, including half•alive, Joe P, Kaiser Chiefs, Janelle Monáe, Broods, and Parcels.
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